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Hezbollah Has Violated a Major UN Resolution Since October — and No One Cares
Members of the United Nations Security Council meet on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan leading to a permanent ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Following the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1701, at the time perceived as a strongly worded document.
It was aimed at not just maintaining the ceasefire, but at strengthening the hands of the government in Beirut by endorsing and calling for the central government to assert control over the entire country.
However, for the most part, Resolution 1701 has reflected the toothless inability of the international body to take those words and effectively implement them on the ground.
The 2006 war was not between two countries, but between Israel and the terrorist Hezbollah organization, headed by Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah is funded, trained, and armed by Iran. The terrorist group is not under the control of the Lebanese government and is not part of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and thus considers itself not obligated at all to the document. Its terrorist activities have been documented for years.
Resolution 1701: In Its Own Words
Two paragraphs in the UNSC resolution appeared to have been directly aimed at Hezbollah [emphasis added]:
“security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL …”
“full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of (UNSC) resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of 27 July 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State.”
In short, Resolution 1701 calls for the disarming of Hezbollah and the deployment of the Lebanese army to exert sovereignty — especially in the south of the country along the Lebanon-Israel border. That area is monitored by UNIFIL, the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon, which is tasked with monitoring the area, and whose heavy presence was intended to dissuade militias.
Resolution 1701: The Shortcomings
In practice, the Resolution proved to be toothless. At the time, experts at the respected Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv concluded that Resolution 1701 “provides no effective mechanism for action to disarm Hezbollah or terminate its existence as a state within a state.”
Analyst Aiman Mansour noted that Hezbollah and Nasrallah were not affected by 1701, which created “a situation in which Lebanon after the campaign is little different from Lebanon before it … it does not create any framework that can threaten Hezbollah’s existence or ongoing terrorist activity.”
Thirteen years after Resolution 1701 was passed, Hezbollah is not only armed, but its weapons inventory has been greatly increased and it remains fully deployed south of the Litani River — as if the UN Security Council Resolution never happened.
Estimates put Hezbollah’s rocket and missile inventory at more than 130,000 — enough to theoretically fire 1,000 rockets a day at Israel for more than four months straight.
Iran’s Covert Scheme to Upgrade Hezbollah’s Rocket Arsenal Revealedhttps://t.co/C785TvrTkz pic.twitter.com/O6KiNGJRRi
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) February 28, 2019
UNIFIL was created in 1978, ostensibly to help the Lebanese government assert sovereignty over the south of the country that had been controlled by armed militias. The UN forks out almost half a billion dollars annually to operate the peacekeeping force. As of August 2019, UNIFIL consisted of 10,277 peacekeepers from 44 troop-contributing countries, while Hezbollah is estimated to have 21,000 active fighters.
Powerless Peacekeepers
Since 2006, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has deployed units in the south, but military control of the area is firmly in Hezbollah’s grasp.
Hezbollah operates under UNIFIL’s nose and it is the de facto force controlling the area along the entire length of the Lebanon-Israel border. Indeed, bright yellow Hezbollah flags dominate over the Lebanese national flag.
Aside from a number of cross-border missile and gunfire skirmishes, as well as the Hezbollah attack that sparked the 2006 war, the most blatant example of UNIFIL’s weakness was the numerous cross border attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah into Israeli territory. The goal of the tunnels, which were revealed in 2018, was to wreak havoc in Israel: capture and kill Israeli civilians and soldiers, and yet somehow avoid an all-out war which would be catastrophic to Lebanon and damaging to Israel (though that calculus may have changed after October 7).
Although UNIFIL recognized that the tunnels were a “violation of the cease-fire agreement,” the UN peacekeepers were powerless to take any action.
“UNIFIL’s insistent requests to the Lebanese authorities to take immediate further action in this regard were left unanswered, and UNIFIL’s access to the site continues to be prevented by the Lebanese Armed Forces, despite repeated requests,” the Security Council said in a report afterwards.
UNIFIL peacekeepers patrolling in Southern Lebanon.
The UN is generally known for its patience, with diplomats doing their jobs to negotiate, seek compromise, and work towards consensus-oriented solutions. However, that patience sometimes wears thin, especially when the United States is involved.
At the annual renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate in 2019, the US delegation voted with the other UNSC members to keep UNIFIL going for another year, but noted that UNIFIL has been prevented from accessing Hezbollah’s tunnels.
“Given that UNIFIL cannot fulfill a task within its mandate, it’s time to re-examine the Force’s troop strength and resource efficiency,” the Americans said.
Lebanese Frustration
Frustration with Resolution 1701 is also apparent with some parties inside Lebanon, whose fractious and fragile government coalition of Sunnis, Shiites, Christians, and Druze has been unable to reign in Lebanese militias — most notably Hezbollah and Nasrallah — to fulfill the resolution’s mandate “that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon.”
“Resolution 1701 has not been respected since 2006 and is being violated on a daily basis, whether by Israel, through its air and sea breaches of Lebanese sovereignty, or by Hezbollah, and its claim that it is charged, alone, with the task of defending Lebanon,” said retired Lebanese Brig. Gen. Khaled Hamade, the former director the Strategic Research & Studies Centre of the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Since then, Hezbollah has become so powerful, that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri admitted that Lebanon can’t rein in Hezbollah and disavowed responsibility. The dangers inherent in the failure to implement the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 are obvious. Hezbollah, a recognized terrorist organization, continues to be armed and directed by Iran. There is no international pressure to force Hezbollah to drop its policy of being a state-within-a-state, with its own large, dangerously-armed private army.
Despite its positive-sounding intentions, Resolution 1701 is an abject failure. Hezbollah has no incentive to change its central ideologies and policies, which mimic Iran’s repeatedly stated national goal for the “full annihilation of Israel.”
Paul Shindman has a long career in both journalism and high-tech in Israel, most recently serving as head of research and content for The Israel Project. He rose to the position of Bureau Chief in charge of operations for United Press International in Jerusalem, and has done production work for TV news networks as well as stringing and blogging for various newspapers, magazines, and websites. With a background in engineering and computing Paul worked at Israeli tech companies ranging from startups to multi-nationals. His first job in Israel was working at Israel’s first ice skating rinks and he is the founder of Israel’s national ice sports associations.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Hezbollah Has Violated a Major UN Resolution Since October — and No One Cares first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US House Members Ask Marco Rubio to Bar Turkey From Rejoining F-35 Program
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
A bipartisan coalition of more than 40 US lawmakers is pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prevent Turkey from rejoining the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, citing ongoing national security concerns and violations of US law.
Members of Congress on Thursday warned that lifting existing sanctions or readmitting Turkey to the US F-35 fifth-generation fighter program would “jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems” and risk exposing sensitive US military technology to Russia. The letter pointed to Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system, despite repeated US warnings, as the central reason Turkey was expelled from the multibillion-dollar fighter jet program in 2019.
“The S-400 poses a direct threat to US aircraft, including the F-16 and F-35,” the lawmakers wrote. “If operated alongside these platforms, it risks exposing sensitive military technology to Russian intelligence.”
The group of signatories, spanning both parties, stressed that Turkey still possesses the Russian weapons systems and has shown “no willingness to comply with US law.” They urged Rubio and the Trump administration to uphold the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and maintain Ankara’s exclusion from the F-35 program until the S-400s are fully removed.
The letter comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed during a NATO summit in June that Ankara and Washington have begun discussing Turkey’s readmission into the program.
Lawmakers argued that reversing course now would undermine both US credibility and allied confidence in American defense commitments. They also warned it could disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet announced by the administration earlier this year.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter emphasized. “We must continue to hold allies and adversaries alike accountable when their actions threaten US interests.”
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US Lawmakers Urge Treasury to Investigate Whether Irish Bill Targeting Israel Violates Anti-Boycott Law
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A group of US lawmakers is calling on the Treasury Department to investigate and potentially penalize Ireland over proposed legislation targeting Israeli goods, warning that the move could trigger sanctions under longstanding US anti-boycott laws.
In a letter sent on Thursday to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 16 Republican members of Congress expressed “serious concerns” about Ireland’s recent legislative push to ban trade with territories under Israeli administration, including the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
The letter, spearheaded by Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), called for the US to “send a clear signal” that any attempts to economically isolate Israel will “carry consequences.”
The Irish measure, introduced by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris, seeks to prohibit the import of goods and services originating from what the legislation refers to as “occupied Palestinian territories,” including Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Supporters say the bill aligns with international law and human rights principles, while opponents, including the signatories of the letter, characterize it as a direct extension of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel as a step toward the destruction of the world’s lone Jewish state.
Some US lawmakers have also described the Irish bill as an example of “antisemitic hate” that could risk hurting relations between Dublin and Washington.
“Such policies not only promote economic discrimination but also create legal uncertainty for US companies operating in Ireland,” the lawmakers wrote in this week’s letter, urging Bessent to determine whether Ireland’s actions qualify as participation in an “unsanctioned international boycott” under Section 999 of the Internal Revenue Code, also known as the Ribicoff Amendment.
Under that statute, the Treasury Department is required to maintain a list of countries that pressure companies to comply with international boycotts not sanctioned by the US. Inclusion on the list carries tax-reporting burdens and possible penalties for American firms and individuals doing business in those nations.
“If the criteria are met, Ireland should be added to the boycott list,” the letter said, arguing that such a step would help protect US companies from legal exposure and reaffirm American opposition to economic efforts aimed at isolating Israel.
Legal experts have argued that if the Irish bill becomes law, it could chase American capital out of the country while also hurting companies that do business with Ireland. Under US law, it is illegal for American companies to participate in boycotts of Israel backed by foreign governments. Several US states have also gone beyond federal restrictions to pass separate measures that bar companies from receiving state contracts if they boycott Israel.
Ireland has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel on the international stage since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza, leading the Jewish state to shutter its embassy in Dublin.
Last year, Ireland officially recognized a Palestinian state, a decision that Israel described as a “reward for terrorism.”
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US Families File Lawsuit Accusing UNRWA of Supporting Hamas, Hezbollah
A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
American families of victims of Hamas and Hezbollah attacks have filed a lawsuit against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing material support to the Islamist terror groups behind the deadly assaults.
Last week, more than 200 families filed a lawsuit in a Washington, DC district court accusing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating US antiterrorism laws by providing funding and support to Hamas and Hezbollah, both designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
The lawsuit alleges that UNRWA employs staff with direct ties to the Iran-backed terror group, including individuals allegedly involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state.
However, UNRWA has firmly denied the allegations, labeling them as “baseless” and condemning the lawsuit as “meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible.”
According to the organization, the lawsuit is part of a wider campaign of “misinformation and lawfare” targeting its work in the Gaza Strip, where it says Palestinians are enduring “mass, deliberate and forced starvation.”
The UN agency reports that more than 150,000 donors across the United States have supported its programs providing food, medical aid, education, and trauma assistance in the war-torn enclave amid the ongoing conflict.
In a press release, UNRWA USA affirmed that it will continue its humanitarian efforts despite facing legal challenges aimed at undermining its work.
“Starvation does not pause for politics. Neither will we,” the statement read.
Last year, Israeli security documents revealed that of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, 440 were actively involved in Hamas’s military operations, with 2,000 registered as Hamas operatives.
According to these documents, at least nine UNRWA employees took part directly in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
Israeli officials also uncovered a large Hamas data center beneath UNRWA headquarters, with cables running through the facility above, and found that Hamas also stored weapons in other UNRWA sites.
The UN agency has also aligned with Hamas in efforts against the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli and US-backed program that delivers aid directly to Palestinians, blocking Hamas from diverting supplies for terror activities and selling them at inflated prices.
These Israeli intelligence documents also revealed that a senior Hamas leader, killed in an Israeli strike in September 2024, had served as the head of the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, where Lebanon is based,
UNRWA’s education programs have been found by IMPACT-se, an international organization that monitors global education, to contribute to the radicalization of younger generations of Palestinians.